The use of contrast agents in diagnostic medicine is rapidly growing. In conventional proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostics, increased contrast of internal organs and tissues may be obtained by administering compositions containing paramagnetic metal species which increase the relaxivity of water protons surrounding the tissue.
The technique of MRI encompasses the detection of certain atomic nuclei utilizing magnetic fields and radio-frequency radiation. It is similar in some respects to X-ray computed tomography (CT) in providing a cross-sectional display of the body organ anatomy with excellent resolution of soft tissue detail. As currently used, the images produced constitute a map of the proton density distribution, in organs and tissues. The technique of MRI is advantageously non-invasive as it avoids the use of ionizing radiation.
While the phenomenon of NMR was discovered in 1945, its potential use as MRI agent to map the internal structure of the body was originally suggested by Lauterbur in 1973. (Nature 242, 190-191 1973!). The fundamental lack of any known hazard associated with the level of the magnetic field and radio-frequency wave that are employed renders it possible to make repeated scans on vulnerable individuals. In addition to standard scan planes (axial, coronal, and sagittal), oblique scan planes can also be selected.
With an MRI experiment, the nuclei under study in a sample (e.g. protons) are irradiated with the appropriate radio-frequency (RF) energy in a highly uniform magnetic field. These nuclei, as they relax, subsequently emit RF at a sharp resonance frequency. The resonance frequency of the nuclei depends on the applied magnetic field.
According to known principles, nuclei with appropriate spin, when placed in an applied magnetic field (B, expressed generally in units of gauss or Tesla 10.sup.4 gauss!) align in the direction of the field. In the case of protons, these nuclei precess at a frequency, f, of 42.6 MHz, at a field strength of 1 Tesla. At this frequency, an RF pulse of radiation will excite the nuclei and can be considered to tip the net magnetization out of the field direction, the extent of this rotation being determined by the pulse duration and energy. After the RF pulse, the nuclei "relax" or return to equilibrium with the magnetic field, emitting radiation at the resonant frequency. The decay of the emitted radiation is characterized by two relaxation times, i.e., T.sub.1, the spin-lattice relaxation time or longitudinal relaxation time, that is, the time taken by the nuclei to return to equilibrium along the direction of the externally applied magnetic field, and T.sub.2, the spin-spin relaxation time associated with the dephasing of the initially coherent precession of individual proton spins. These relaxation times have been established for various fluids, organs and tissues in different species of mammals.
In MRI, scanning planes and slice thicknesses can be selected. This selection permits high quality transverse, coronal and sagittal images to be obtained directly. The absence of any moving parts in MRI equipment promotes high reliability. It is believed that MRI has a greater potential than CT for the selective examination of tissue characteristics in view of the fact that in CT, X-ray attenuation coefficients alone determine image contrast, whereas at least five separate variables (T.sub.1, T.sub.2, proton density, pulse sequence and flow) may contribute to the MRI signal.
By reason of its sensitivity to subtle physico-chemical differences between organs and/or tissues, it is believed that MRI may be capable of differentiating different tissue types and in detecting diseases which induce physicochemical changes that may not be detected by X-ray or CT which are only sensitive to differences in the electron density of tissue.
As noted above, two of the principal imaging parameters are the relaxation times, T.sub.1 and T.sub.2. For protons (or other appropriate nuclei), these relaxation times are influenced by the environment of the nuclei, (e.g., viscosity, temperature, and mechanisms whereby the initially imparted radio-frequency energy is dissipated to the surrounding environment. The rate of this energy loss or relaxation can be influenced by certain other nuclei which are paramagnetic. Chemical compounds incorporating these paramagnetic nuclei may substantially alter the T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 values for nearby protons. The extent of the paramagnetic effect of a given chemical compound is a function of the environment.
Typically, paramagnetic ions have been administered in the form of complexes with organic complexing agents. Such complexes provide the paramagnetic ions in a soluble, non-toxic forms, and facilitate their rapid clearance from the body following the imaging procedure. Gries, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,447, disclose complexes of various paramagnetic ions with conventional aminocarboxylic acid complexing agents. A preferred complex disclosed by Gries, et al. is the complex of gadolinium (III) with diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid ("DTPA").
With acceptance and widespread use of MRI, new needs for contrast agents arise. Historically, in the field of MR contrast agent development, efforts to produce such agents have primarily focused upon derivatizing polymers with relaxation agents (e.g. Gd-DTPA polylsine) as well as polyethylene glycol-or carbohydrate-coated paramagnetic or supermagnetic particles. Such agents have not found widespread use because they remain indefinitely in the vasculature or present significant physiological side effects. Clinicians have repeatedly expressed their desire for contrast agents that remain concentrated in the blood, versus surrounding tissue, for extended periods of time.